Mott’s owners urged to return to bargaining table

By Daily Record Staff
Posted: 5:43 pm Tue, August 24, 2010

Sen. John L. Sampson, D-Brooklyn, majority conference leader of the state Senate, is urging Mott’s parent company to return to the bargaining table as quickly as possible to settle a strike with the Wayne County plant.

More than 300 workers, represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, have been striking since May 23, about a month after negotiations ceased on a new contract with Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group which owns the Mott’s plant in Williamson.

Sampson, in an Aug. 20 letter to Larry Young, president of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which owns the Mott’s plant in Williamson, Wayne County, says the high-skilled, good-paying jobs  provided by Mott’s are more vital than ever with upstate unemployment rates at “extreme levels.”

He further notes it is even more important to resolve the matter as apple season is quickly approaching.